Vehicle display device

ABSTRACT

A vehicle display device that is mounted on a vehicle moving toward a destination does not display a content shown in the destination but displays a video related to the content and a video other than a video provided in the destination.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2020-208932 filed on Dec. 17, 2020, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle display device mounted on avehicle that moves toward a destination.

2. Description of Related Art

It has been proposed that videos are displayed on an inner wall surfaceof a vehicle since passengers often get bored with just seeing alandscape outside of the vehicle while the vehicle is moving. WO2017/208719 describes that various videos are displayed on the innerwall surface of the vehicle. The inner wall surface includes a window,and in an autonomous driving vehicle, a front window is also included inthe inner wall surface for displaying the videos. The videos to bedisplayed may be commercial contents such as movies, videos taken by anin-vehicle camera, videos taken by a drone, archived videos, and thelike. The videos are displayed in a non-transparent mode and atransparent mode as needed. In the transparent mode, the passengers cansee the landscape.

SUMMARY

However, WO 2017/208719 does not describe an effective use of a timerequired to reach a specific destination in relation to the destination.

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle display device mounted on avehicle moving toward a destination. The vehicle display device does notdisplay a content shown in the destination but displays a related videorelated to the content and a video other than a video provided in thedestination.

The related video may be a video that is associated with the content.

The video that is associated with the content may include a video of alocation used when the content was created, a video about a birthplaceof a creator of the content, and a video about a location of an objectreferenced when the content was created.

The destination may be an entertainment facility.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to see a contentthat is not the content itself shown in the destination, so that users'understanding of the destination is deepened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote likeelements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically shows an operation mode of a vehicle equipped witha vehicle display device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display control devicemounted on the vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of a vehicle cabin of thevehicle;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a scenery of anentertainment facility in the vehicle cabin of the vehicle; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a video display process in the vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited tothe embodiment described below.

Vehicle Operation Mode

In the embodiment, entertainment facilities that entertain visitorsunder a specific theme (concept) are focused as a destination to visit.In such entertainment facilities, the culture of a specific country,stories, movies, etc. are often set as one of the themes. Note that thedestination is not limited to the above entertainment facilities, andmay include a zoo or a park.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an operation mode of a vehicle equipped witha vehicle display device according to the embodiment. In this example, avehicle 10 operates from one terminal stop 14 to a stop 16-n (16-1 to16-4) in an entertainment facility 12. As the terminal stop 14, thenearest railway station to the entertainment facility 12 or the like isassumed. The vehicle 10 may be a private car or the like.

The entertainment facility 12 is divided into four areas 12-1, 12-2,12-3, and 12-4 for four themes 1 to 4 with different concepts. The stops16-1, 16-2, 16-3, and 16-4 are provided corresponding to the dividedareas 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, and 12-4, respectively. In this example, thedivided areas 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, and 12-4 are destination points. Sincethe divided areas 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, and 12-4 and the stops 16-1, 16-2,16-3, and 16-4 are not limited to four, any one of the divided areas andany one of the stops are expressed as a divided area 12-n and a stop16-n (n is a natural number), respectively.

In this example, the vehicle 10 is a shared bus, and directly goes toany one of the stops 16-n (16-1, 16-2, 16-3, and 16-4) from the terminalstop 14. The vehicle 10 may directly go to one stop 16-n, and thensequentially stop at another stop 16-n.

Vehicle Configuration

Configuration for Display Control

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a display control devicemounted on the vehicle 10. A communication device 20 is connected to acommunication line such as the Internet via wireless communication, andperforms processing for various communications. In this example,communication with a management computer in the entertainment facility12 is possible.

A processing unit 22 is connected to the communication device 20, andthe processing unit 22 performs various types of data processing. Adisplay 24 as display means and an input device 26 are connected to theprocessing unit 22. A liquid crystal, an organic electro luminescence(EL), a projection display, etc. can be adopted for the display 24 fordisplaying videos on an inner wall surface of the vehicle 10.

Further, a theme-specific associative content storage unit 28 isconnected to the processing unit 22, and information on an associativecontent for each of the divided areas 12-n is stored therein.

Here, as the theme-specific associative content, the following examplescan be mentioned.

-   -   Information on various sacred sites when a theme is related to        pilgrimage to the sacred sites    -   Area information related to a character of a theme    -   Information on adventurous sites (e.g. sea, mountains) when a        theme is related to adventure    -   Information on fantastic sites (e.g. zoo) when a theme is        related to fantasy    -   Video of a location used when the content of a theme was created    -   Video of a birthplace of a creator of the content    -   Video about a location of an object referenced when the content        was created

As described above, the video about items that are not directly relatedto the content but are associated with the content is stored in thetheme-specific associative content storage unit 28.

A current location detection unit 30 for detecting a current location ofthe vehicle 10 is connected to the processing unit 22. A globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) such as Global Positioning System(GPS) is adopted for the current location detection unit 30.

As will be described later, since the video of the divided area 12-n inwhich users will arrive is read from the related video of each dividedarea 12-n stored in the theme-specific associative content storage unit28, and then displayed and played, the users can obtain prior knowledgeabout the divided area 12-n that is a destination, so that the users canfurther enjoy the destination. The theme-specific associative contentstorage unit 28 may temporarily store the theme-specific associativecontent distributed via the communication device 20.

Configuration of Vehicle

The configuration of the vehicle 10 for transporting the users from theterminal stop 14 to the stop 16-n will be described. The vehicle 10 maybe a manually driven vehicle operated by a driver or an autonomousdriving vehicle. Regarding the autonomous driving vehicle, for example,based on the standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAEInternational), it is preferable that the vehicle 10 operate at level 4(highly automated driving) or level 5 (fully automated driving).

FIG. 3 illustrates a state of a vehicle cabin of the vehicle 10. Aplurality of seats 92 is arranged in the vehicle cabin in thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle 10. Further, an aisle 93 isprovided in the center of the vehicle cabin in the vehicle widthdirection. The aisle 93 extends in the longitudinal direction of thevehicle 10. A row of the seats 92 extends in the longitudinal directionof the vehicle 10 on each side of the aisle 93.

The display 24 is provided as a vehicle window of the vehicle 10. Thatis, in this vehicle 10, instead of providing glass windows as vehiclewindows on the right and left sides of the vehicle, the display 24 isprovided. The display 24 is arranged such that a display surface of thedisplay 24 faces the vehicle cabin. The display 24 can have both atransparent mode and a non-transparent mode by using, for example, anorganic EL display.

Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 , the display 24 displays thevideo associated with the divided area 12-n that is a destination.

In the autonomous driving vehicle, the front window may also serve asthe display 24 for displaying the video. Further, in a normal vehicle, apartition may be provided between the driver's seat and the passenger'sseat, and the display 24 may be installed in the area. Further, thedisplay 24 may be provided on the ceiling or the like. The passengerscannot see the landscape when the display 24 installed in a place otherthan the window stops displaying the video. Therefore, during the periodfor which the video is not displayed on the window, the landscapeoutside of the vehicle 10 may be captured and displayed, or a videoprepared in advance may be displayed on the place. The passengers canalso see the landscape outside of the vehicle 10 in the transparent modeof the display 24.

Further, in this example, the display 24 itself can be switched betweenthe transparent mode and the non-transparent mode, but the display 24may be physically movable.

Note that, in FIG. 3 , the landscape outside of the vehicle 10 isomitted for convenience, and in FIG. 4 , the forest is displayed forconvenience, and passengers 100 are also shown.

Video Display Processing

First, a related video is created according to each divided area 12-n.This related video is not directly related to the content of the dividedarea 12-n but is a video that is not shown in the divided area 12-n.This related video may include an interview with a creator, storyboards,filmmaking secrets, and the like.

Further, it is preferable that the length of the video be within themoving time of the vehicle 10, a plurality of videos that lasts acomparatively short period of time be prepared, or videos that lastvarious periods of time be prepared. As a result, it is possible todisplay the videos in an appropriate combination according to the timerequired for the vehicle 10 to reach the divided area 12-n.

In addition, the landscape of the route of the vehicle 10 is studied,and objects to be shown and objects not to be shown are specified.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a video display process in the vehicle 10.First, a destination is set (S11). In this example, the vehicle 10 is ashared bus whose destination is the entertainment facility 12, and anyone of the stops 16-n is set as the destination. When the destination isset, the related information (video data) about the destination is read(S12).

Then, when the vehicle 10 departs for the destination (YES in S13), anannouncement is issued after departure (S14), and the current locationdetection unit 30 acquires the current location (S15).

Then, it is determined whether the landscape of the current location issuitable to be shown (S16). When the landscape is suitable, the display24 is set to the transparent mode and the landscape is shown (S17). Whenthe landscape is not suitable, the display 24 is set to thenon-transparent mode and the video obtained by playing the video dataprepared in advance is shown (S18). Note that the landscape to be shownand not to be shown includes objects such as specific buildings,monuments, and signboards.

Then, it is determined whether the current time is a predetermined timebefore the estimated time of arrival at the destination (S19). When thecurrent time is not the predetermined time before the estimated time,the process returns to S15 and the control of the display 24 isrepeated. When the current time is the predetermined time before theestimated time, a termination process for playing termination videos isperformed (S20).

As described above, in the embodiment, the landscape of the travelingroute of the vehicle 10 is checked, and the relationship with the targetdivided area 12-n is studied. In this study, objects to be shown andobjects not to be shown are determined. For example, information boards,buildings, and characters related to the target divided area 12-ncorrespond to the objects to be shown, and objects related to anotherdivided area 12-n correspond to the objects not to be shown. When thevehicle 10 is traveling, a video associated with a theme is displayedwhile the landscape not to be shown is not shown and the landscape to beshown is shown. As a result, the users can further obtain the knowledgeabout the divided area 12-n that is a destination, and further enjoy thedestination.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle display device mounted on a vehiclemoving toward a destination, the destination being one area of aplurality of divided areas, each of the plurality of divided areashaving a different concept, the vehicle display device comprising: adisplay provided as a window and having a transparent mode and anon-transparent mode; and one or more processors configured to executethe steps of: analyzing a relationship between objects in a landscape ofa traveling route of the vehicle and the concept of the destination,determining whether the objects in the landscape are related to theconcept of the destination, setting the display to the transparent modewhen the vehicle travels near objects determined to be related to theconcept of the destination and displaying a video associated with thedestination that includes objects in the landscape determined to berelated to the concept of the destination, and setting the display tothe non-transparent mode when the vehicle travels near objects relatedto the concept of another divided area and not the concept of thedestination and displaying a video associated with the destination thatexcludes objects in the landscape determined to be related to theconcept of the another divided area and not the concept of thedestination.
 2. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, whereinthe one or more processors is further configured to execute the step ofdisplaying a related video associated with the concept of the anotherdivided area, and the related video is a video that is associated with acontent of the video associated with the destination.
 3. The vehicledisplay device according to claim 2, wherein the related video is atleast one of a video of a location used when the content was created, avideo about a birthplace of a creator of the content, and a video abouta location of an object referenced in the video associated with thedestination when the content was created.
 4. The vehicle display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the destination is an entertainmentfacility.